


The Way Things Change

by flannelfeelings



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage, Mild Injury, Pregnancy, Pregnant Amy Santiago, Protective Jake Peralta, Rosa Diaz & Amy Santiago Friendship, s7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:15:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29058081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flannelfeelings/pseuds/flannelfeelings
Summary: When a pregnant Amy gets injured on the job, she's forced to decide what matters most
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 22
Kudos: 76





	The Way Things Change

**Author's Note:**

> So here's just a lil angsty/fluffyish thing I decided to write! I had some pregnant Amy feelings n I miss writing these two soo much. I have a few more ideas in the works im gonna try to write soon!! 
> 
> Here's to wishing we had way more pregnancy storyline in s7! 
> 
> Unbeta'd and written at like midnight so sorry in advance!! I hope you enjoy!

It was the noise that woke her first.

Amy’s eyes blinked open slowly, trying to adjust to the darkness. She rolled over on her side, squinting into the black. It was difficult to see, though the sound of her husband’s frantic breathing shattered through the thick quiet and bleak air.

“Jake.” Amy shook his shoulder, whispering urgently, “Jake!”

With a gasp, he jolted into a sitting position, glancing around frantically. Amy kept her hand on his shoulder, and felt his fingers slide up to grip hers tightly.

“Were you...dreaming about it again?” she asked quietly.

She couldn’t see his pale face in the darkness, but she heard the hurt in his trembling voice, “Yeah. I guess.”

“Hey,” she murmured, “I’m okay. We’re okay.”

“I-I know.” he replied shortly, as if he was trying to convince himself.

A rush of sympathy coursed through Amy as she heard the pain in her husband’s voice. The past few days hadn’t been easy for him, well, for either of them. An incident at work on Thursday had left both of them more frightened and shaken than they’d ever been.

Amy was in her third trimester, just rounded past seven months into her pregnancy. Things were going great, save for some high blood pressure, but nothing too concerning. Obviously she was on desk duty, and had been for a while. She wasn’t out working cases.

Jake and Charles were out after a lead when it happened.

It was so quick, Amy almost couldn’t piece together the moments that had led up to it. Someone entered the precinct, an ex-con who’d been put away. He was angry, he wanted revenge. Rosa, who was on her lunch break, had her headphones in and didn’t hear him coming up behind her.

Amy knew it was stupid. She should’ve let one of the other cops throw themselves in the way, after all, there was a whole floor of them. But no one else had noticed him yet, and he was reaching into his coat pocket, coming up fast on an unassuming Rosa.

He didn’t even have the gun fully removed from his pocket before Amy jolted forward, wrestling it from his hands. The gun clattered to the floor, and a scuffle ensued, which alerted the attention of other officers, who jumped to her aid immediately. Rosa too heard the commotion and jumped up in surprise, yanking out her headphones and rushing to assist.

Before they could pry the two apart, the man shoved Amy roughly. Her balance wasn’t exactly what it used to be, and she crashed into a desk before hitting the floor. It wasn’t anything worse than she’d had before, though it had led to a pulled muscle in her hamstring and a bruised hip. She was more afraid for her baby than anything else, and sat on the floor, stunned for a moment with her hands over her belly as if she could possibly tell anything from simply touching her middle.

Of course, Rosa and Terry rushed Amy to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. Which meant Jake got a panicked phone call from one of them (most likely Terry) saying Amy was in the hospital and had been injured by a perp.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a call her husband was hoping to get.

Amy was starstruck with how quickly Jake managed to get there, bursting into her room as if the curtain between them was nothing more than thin air. His large brown eyes were frantic, palpable fear visible on his face. He pulled Amy into his arms and cradled her body like she was made of glass, kissing her forehead and murmuring concerned questions. Was she okay? What the hell happened? Was the baby okay?

Luckily, everyone was fine. But that didn’t mean it hadn’t scared the shit out of both of them.

The man responsible for the incident (Amy later learned was named Zack Zelner) was currently rotting in a jail cell. Though, clearly that wasn’t a balm on Jake’s worried mind as he sat up in the darkness of their bedroom, awoken from a bad dream.

“I just can’t stop thinking about what could have happened.” Jake’s voice brought Amy back to the present, and she felt his body shudder beneath her hand.

“That doesn’t matter,” Amy said quietly, “Everyone’s okay, babe.”

“I know, Ames, I know.” he nodded again, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Amy could tell from his voice that he was too shaken up to go back to sleep, so she leaned over and flicked on her lamp.

“Babe, you need to rest.” Jake told her gently.

“C’mere.” Amy gestured for him to scoot closer, and held her arms out invitingly. Jake buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled slowly, as if trying to savor her familiar smell. As if he were worried he’d never get to breathe her in again.

Amy hated to see him like this. The incident had really shaken him. He’d almost lost his wife and baby...well, at least in his eyes. It had just reminded him of how risky even being at the precinct could be. It scared Amy too, but she’d already bounced back. He may need more time. 

“Amy?” Jake asked quietly, still buried in her skin, their arms tangled together as they embraced on the bed.

“Yes?”

“Would you please reconsider-”

“Jake-”

“Amy, please. Please, it’s just a month early.”

Amy let out a quiet sigh, chewing on her lower lip. Jake had proposed the idea of an early maternity leave a few times throughout the pregnancy, given how strenuous her job was, but Amy always resisted. She was already planning on a nightmarishly bad FOMOW once the baby was here, let alone beforehand. The past few days he’d been bringing it up nonstop.

“Jake, I know this freaked you out, I’m sure it wasn’t fun to get a call saying I was in the hospital. But we are both fine.” She took his hand and placed it over the swell of her stomach, patting his knuckles comfortingly, “It really wasn’t-”

“If you say it wasn’t a big deal one more time, I’m going to chain you to the bed and never let you leave.” He warned her sternly.

“Kinky.” Amy teased.

He glowered at her, “I’m just asking you to think about it, okay?”

Amy debated quietly for a moment, then said, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay? We should get some sleep.”

Tomorrow was her first day back at work after the incident, so she meant what she said, she needed to rest. Her hamstring was feeling better, and the bruise on her hip was only sore when she moved around, so she felt ready. But that didn’t mean she wanted to be commanding her officers on empty batteries.

“Okay.” Jake replied quietly, he glanced up at her face, eyes soft with affection, “I love you Ames.”

“I love you too.” She leaned over and planted a loving kiss on his lips, before clicking off her lamp.

In the darkness, Jake wrapped his arms around her, tucking her body into his safely as his arms came around her. His hands settled over her belly, as if he hoped to protect their baby with just his calloused fingers. 

* * *

The next morning was chaotic. Amy’s officers mobbed her with concerns and greetings when she entered the precinct, exhausted from her restless night. She wasn’t in the mood to field questions about how she felt, so she directed Gary to intercept the annoying officers whenever they approached. Amy was happy to be back, getting into the thick of things as she planned a strategy to catch a convenience store robber on 6th.

She’d left earlier than Jake today, opting not to wake him before her shift as she normally would. He needed to catch up on sleep, and she’d see him when he got there in a few hours.

The day was chaotic, but still peaceful and pleasant for Amy. That was, until Jake got there.

He immediately stepped off the elevator and marched to her desk, arms crossed. Amy glanced up from her paperwork, smiling cheerfully at him, though she could tell his feathers were ruffled.

“Good morning.” Amy greeted him.

“You didn’t wake me before you left.” He replied.

Amy shrugged, “I figured you’d want to get some rest after last night.”

Jake sighed heavily, “Are you ready to talk?”

“Talk?”

“You said we’d talk about maternity leave today.” He reminded her.

“Oh, we will Jake, I promise. I just have a lot of work to catch up on right now, and I need to get it done. Do you want to have lunch together?”

“Okay, Ames. I’ll come back down at noon.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

True to form, Jake stopped by Amy’s desk at 12:05, only a few minutes late. She was still deeply engrossed in her case file, chewing on her thumb while she desperately wracked her brain for some sort of solution. How had the burglar gotten past the security cameras at the gas station?

“Ames?” Jake’s voice brought her out of her stupor, and she glanced up at Jake just as she had an epiphany.

“The clerk!” She gasped, “He was in on it!” She rose from her chair as the pieces fell into place in her mind, “He wasn’t there the night of the robbery, he had access to the security footage and knew exactly where the emergency cash was kept. He had no alibi-”

“I’m guessing you just got a lead?” Jake asked with a laugh.

“Yes!” Amy was giddy with excitement, and wished more than anything she could get out there and go track him down for questioning. Part of her ached to head for the elevator and do it, but her bruised hip throbbed a bit with her rapid movement, and she was reminded of the weight in her middle.

“I-I have to go get Gary.” She said, glancing at Jake, “I’m sorry, can we take a raincheck on lunch?”

“Of course…” he scratched the back of his neck worriedly, “Promise me you’ll take some time to eat though, okay?”

“I promise.” She assured him, “Thanks Jake.”

He pulled her in for a quick, but tender kiss before letting her go so she could track down Gary and get him on the streets after the clerk.

She was in such a hurry to get to Gary’s desk that she didn’t notice Jake watching her go with a deeply set frown.

* * *

The exhaustion hit around 4:30.

Amy felt run-ragged. Between her hectic day, skipping lunch in favor of a few vending machine snacks, and Jake’s constant texting asking if she was doing okay, she had never felt more drained. She had the feeling he’d be stopping by her desk if he weren’t busy out working leads. Her hip was aching and her hamstring was still not quite right. She yearned to go home and curl up in bed, but she still had a few hours left of her shift.

Footsteps nearing her desk caught her attention, and she noticed Rosa approaching. The other woman looked apprehensive, somewhat unsure as she stopped in front of the sergeant’s desk.

“Hey Rosa.” Amy smiled.

“Hi Amy.” Rosa pursed her lips, then got to it, “Can we talk?”

“Sure.” Amy gestured toward the chair that was opposite her own at the desk, and Rosa took a seat, “What’s going on?”

“Well, first of all...thank you.” Rosa didn’t meet her eyes for more than a moment, but there was gratitude written across her expression, “You saved my life the other day. Never got the chance to say thanks.”

Amy shrugged, “I’d do it again, Rosa. Any day.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.” Rosa sighed, leaning her elbows against the desk as she continued, “What’s going on with you?”

A frown creased Amy’s brows, and she inquired, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re pregnant as hell, no offense, and you’re still throwing yourself at criminals and working twelve hour shifts. What gives?”

Amy snorted, “I’m on desk duty, Rosa.”

“And yet, you managed to land yourself in the hospital.” Rosa reminded her.

Amy threw her hands up in exasperation, “I was supposed to let that guy shoot you, Rosa?”

“No, of course not. And I’m really grateful for you. But...I’m also kinda worried.”

“I’m really okay.” Amy assured her, and it was true. She was tired, and definitely felt the effects of her strenuous job and pregnancy, but she wasn’t feeling bad. She loved her job and it was definitely worth the fatigue.

“I believe you.” Rosa promised her, “I’m worried about Jake.”

“What’s wrong with Jake?”

Rosa cocked an eyebrow up as if to say: _seriously?_

Amy just stared expectantly.

Rosa continued, “Well, he’s a wreck, dude. I mean, he’s been pretty annoying about all of this since you first got pregnant. But it’s like cranked up to a thousand lately. It’s like he doesn’t feel okay unless you’re by his side. I think he’s really afraid of what could’ve happened that day…” the dark-haired woman shuddered, “We all are. He just worries about you constantly. He checks his phone every five seconds, he stands by the elevator like he’s debating going down to check on you, but decides against it cause he knows it’ll annoy you. He tenses up anytime something comes through on the radio about a dangerous suspect.”

Amy took in her friend’s words, ruminating over the image of Jake constantly worrying about her safety. Wondering if she was getting into danger, or not taking care of herself. Being distracted in his own work, putting his own safety at risk, because he was panicking about hers and the baby’s. Was she being selfish?

No. As guilty as she felt, Jake was a grown man. Wasn’t it his problem if he was worrying about her?

She said as much, “I get it Rosa. And I’ll talk to him. But...I can’t just leave early because my husband is worried about me. That’s not exactly who I am.”

Rosa nodded, “I know. I’m just saying, you guys gotta figure something out, ‘cause he’s driving me crazy. All of us up there. I mean, if you left right now it would only be what...a few weeks early? Is that really the end of the world? Don’t you kind of see where he’s coming from? I mean, you did throw yourself at a man with a gun.”

Amy deflected, “I had it under control-”

“But what if you didn’t?” Rosa demanded, “What if you missed, or he was stronger than you? What if he shot you, Amy? I mean, did you think about what that would do to Jake? You know I’m grateful that you saved my life...but if it had cost you _yours_ …” Rosa grimaced, “It’d be a different story.”

Amy was quiet for a moment, remembering the incident. It was a reflex; an instinct to protect her friend, her fellow officer. It had all happened so quickly...Amy was barely in control of herself. She just did what she was trained to do. What if she had been a second slower? What if he’d had another gun, what if he’d done worse than just shoved her?

The “what ifs” were staggering. And sobering.

What if he had killed her? Their baby? Amy thought about trying to go on knowing she’d caused her baby to die. The thought was nauseating. And in the moment, she hadn’t given it a second thought.

The scary thing was, she knew if the situation arose again, she’d do the exact same thing. She couldn’t help it; she wasn’t the person to just stand by and watch something horrible unfold. It just wasn’t her nature.

What if it arose again? It wasn’t too hard to imagine, in a police precinct in Brooklyn, surrounded by homicide and narcotics detectives. What if she threw herself in the throes of danger again, and this time, she wasn’t so lucky?

“Oh.” Amy murmured, finally understanding why her husband had been begging her to stay home for the last few months.

“We all know you love your job.” Rosa said quietly, “And I’m the last one to tell you to do something just to make your husband happy. But...this really might be the best thing. The safest thing. At least until he’s born.”

Amy nodded, feeling a strange wetness in the corners of her eyes. The thoughts were overwhelming now; imaging the horrible scenarios in which the other day could have gone so much worse. How she could be either dead, or a much different woman then she currently was. More damaged, in indescribable pain.

It was her job to protect her baby. What kind of mother was she?

“Maybe you’re right.” Amy responded in a low voice.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Rosa suddenly seemed uncomfortable with the heavy air.

“No, you-you didn’t.” Amy wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat, “I’m going to- I’m gonna head out early I think. I uh, need to get some fresh air.” She stood from her desk, blinking rapidly to keep herself composed, “I’ll see you Rosa.”

“Hey, Amy I-”

“It’s okay I promise.” Amy assured her, throwing her purse over her shoulder and heading for the elevator as quickly as her tired legs would carry her. Right now, she just needed to not be in the precinct.

Amy opted to take the brisk walk home instead of catching the subway. As exhausted as she was, she needed time to think, make a decision. Time to come to terms with the fact that she may not be returning to the precinct for a while. Come to terms with the fact that she almost killed her baby the other day, and hadn’t even realized it until just now.

The cold air hitting her face wasn’t nearly enough of a punishment.

* * *

“Amy?” The sound of the front door closing and her name being called broke through Amy’s clouded mind.

She’d made it home quickly, and ended up in bed, curled up with a pillow between her legs. She’d stripped out of her uniform, but didn’t have the energy to change, so she lay there between the sheets stark naked, staring ahead of her at nothing as the whir of the ceiling fan soothed her frayed nerves. She had no idea how long it had been since she’d left work.

“Amy? Are you here?” the bedroom door creaked, and Jake appeared in the doorway, relief evident on his expression. He crossed the room until he was squatted beside the bed, frowning worriedly at her.

“You feeling okay?” Jake inquired, reaching out to press his palm against her forehead, studying her forlorn expression with concern.

Amy met his eyes, and said, “I’m sorry.”

Jake cocked an eyebrow up curiously, “Sorry for what?”

“I could’ve gotten us killed.” she breathed, voice low and trembling, “What if the baby had died, Jake?”

His expression went from confused to understanding in an instant. He rose to his feet and glanced at the visible sliver of skin showing from her shoulder up beneath the sheets.

“Amy Santiago,” Jake replied in a scandalized voice, “Are you _nakey_ under there?”

She couldn’t help the small smile that broke through her sad-sack expression at his phrasing, “Yes. Too busy being a terrible mom to focus on pajamas.”

Wordlessly, her husband unbuttoned his flannel, sliding it off his torso. He peeled off his navy blue undershirt, leaving him shirtless in his jeans. That was good enough for Amy, but his hands moved down to unbuckle and remove his belt. The jeans and underwear followed after. Jake stood there, naked before her in all his glory.

“Make room.” He urged, climbing in beside her and pulling the sheets around them both. They were face-to-face in bed now, her rounded belly the only barrier between them as it brushed against his hard, toned stomach. His hand came up to tentatively stroke her cheek, the knuckles on his familiar hand tracing sweet circles on her face.

“Why would the best mom in the world have something so awful to say about herself?” He asked quietly, “Talk to me.”

“The other day.” Amy replied, “When I dove for that guy...he had a gun. I didn’t even think about it. I just threw myself at him, without thinking about my own safety.”

“You’re a good cop.” Jake told her sternly, “And a selfless, brave person.”

“Thank you.” She muttered, “But...I’m growing a baby. And he didn’t agree to that. I guess it’s just kind of hitting me that what I did was really, really stupid.”

“It wasn’t stupid.” Jake shook his head, “It was courageous and incredible, like everything you do.” he offered her a sympathetic smile, “Did it scare the shit out of me? Yes. Do I wish you hadn’t? Probably yeah. But I’m also really glad Rosa is not hurt. And that’s because of you.”

“But it could happen again.” she said.

“It could happen again.” Jake agreed quietly.

“I know myself.” Amy continued, “If something like that happens...I won’t even think about it. I’ll throw myself into the line of fire again.”

“I know.” He murmured.

“I’m sorry.” Amy shook her head.

“Don’t be.” Jake took her face in his hands and forced her to meet his eyes, “I’m in love with you for so many things. And one of those things is that you are a real life superwoman.”

“I don’t think I can go back until he’s born.” Amy told him in a trembling voice, “I don’t think I have a choice anymore.”

Jake hesitated, chewing on his lip for a moment before he said, “I don’t want you to not go because you’re feeling guilty. Yeah I’m worried sick, but I’ll deal with it. I know how much this means to you.”

“I don’t want anything to happen to the baby.” Amy said, “And while he’s inside me...I kind of can’t let anything happen to _me_ either. I think this is the only way to do that.”

“Are you sure?” Jake asked, bringing his fingers up to smooth gentle lines down her hair.

She nodded, “It’s really scary. But I think it’s the right thing to do.”

“So do I.” Jake agreed softly, “I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

“We knew it was a possibility when we decided to have kids.” Amy sighed, “I love my job, but I also love our baby.”

“It’s not like you’re giving it up forever.” Jake reminded her, “Just a few more months and you’ll be right back in that uniform, kicking ass for real.”

Amy offered him a small smile, “Just promise me you’ll keep me in the loop okay? Cases and who got murdered and who kissed who in the evidence room.”

Jake let out a snorting laugh, “No one’s done that since the two bozos who killed Dozerman.”

Amy giggled, “Wow, wonder what those assholes are up to.”

“Hopefully they didn’t procreate.” Jake shuddered.

“I can’t imagine.” Amy shook her head teasingly, “And to think, they named him after a _Die Hard_ character…”

“Over the line, Santiago!” Jake snapped, rolling over to pull their bodies closer together and press his lips against hers, “Keep it up and I might have to punish you.”

“Oh?” Amy grinned, “Well in that case, _Die Hard_ sucks!”

“Now you’ve done it!” Jake began planting kisses down her cheek, jaw, neck and chest, purposely tickling her sensitive skin. She let out shrieks as she tried to fight him off, but she didn’t put in too much effort. It felt too nice to have his hands touching her body and his mouth leaving sweet tingling sensations across her skin.

“Jake,” Amy’s serious voice gave him pause, and Jake glanced up from where he was working his way down her body, just having planted a sweet kiss on her belly.

“You okay?” He asked lovingly.

“I just...love you.” Amy said softly, “Thank you for putting up with me.”

“I love you too.” Jake responded immediately, “And zip it, before you get yourself in more trouble.”

Amy smirked, knowing she’d have to keep going. This was definitely the type of trouble she wanted to be in.

As scary and uncertain as everything felt, especially right now, she always knew there was one thing she could count on to make her feel like everything would be okay. The man who was currently about to eat her out beneath their flower printed bedsheets.

“There will be a lot more time for this now.” Jake mused as his lips made tender movements over her trembling thighs. Amy considered that for a moment.

Maybe this staying home thing wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> life has been insane so thank u to anyone who still is interested in reading my jake and amy works! hope to be able to get back into the swing of things :) I always love these two


End file.
